Method and devices for recording data and documents for a person

ABSTRACT

In a computer system ( 1 ), generated (S 2 ) is a visual code which encodes reference information for identifying a data object linked to a person. Using a camera of a mobile communication device ( 2 ), the reference information encoded in the visual code is captured from a visual representation of the visual code and stored (S 5 ) in the mobile communication device ( 2 ). In the mobile communication device ( 2 ), generated (S 8 ) is a data package which includes the captured reference information and an image ( 23 ) of a document ( 4 ) of the person. The data package is transferred (S 9 ) from the mobile communication device ( 2 ) to the computer system ( 1 ). In the computer system ( 1 ), the image of the document ( 4 ) is stored (S 11 ) linked to the data object ( 10 ), defined by the reference information received in the data package.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the U.S. National Phase under 35 U.S.C. § 371 ofInternational Application PCT/EP2018/056284, filed Mar. 13, 2018, whichclaims priority to CH Application No. 00480/17, filed Apr. 10, 2017, theentire contents of each of which are incorporated by reference hereinand made a part of this specification.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and devices for recording dataand documents for a person. Specifically, the present invention relatesto a computer-implemented method, a computer system, a mobilecommunication device, and computer program products for recording dataand documents for a person.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Very early in their development, computers have been used to record(enter and store) data assigned to a person. For that purpose, dataobjects have been linked in the computer to a person identifier definingthe person, e.g. a unique numeric or alphanumeric code, a biometricrecord, and/or another code that uniquely identifies the respectiveperson. Further developments of computers and computer peripheraldevices, such as scanners or digital cameras, made it possible togenerate electronic representations of paper documents and to storethese electronic document representations in the computers linked to aperson. In applications and scenarios where the computer is operated bya service provider who is separate and remote from the person, paperdocuments of the person could be sent by paper mail to the serviceprovider where the paper documents were converted (scanned, imaged) toelectronic representations of the documents and stored in the computersystem. However, depending on the circumstances, linking the documentsin the computer to the proper person was not always possible, forexample, the documents could not be properly and non-ambiguouslyassigned to the right person, or several documents were simply mixed up.In applications where the documents originated at the service provider,e.g. (non-anonymous) questionnaires, forms, tax returns, and the like,this problem could be avoided in that the service provider printed aperson identifier onto the paper documents, e.g. before the paperdocuments were mailed to the person. When, at a later point in time, thepaper documents were returned to the service provider, the personidentifier printed on the paper documents made it possible for theservice provider to assign the paper documents to the proper person andto store the electronic representation of the respective document in thecomputer linked to the corresponding person identifier. For paperdocuments that do not originate at the service provider, the approach ofprinting a person identifier onto the paper documents is neitherpractical nor feasible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to provide a computer-implementedmethod and devices for recording data and documents for a person, whichmethod and devices do not have at least some of the disadvantages of theprior art. In particular, it is an object of the present invention toprovide a computer-implemented method and devices for recording for aperson documents which have not printed thereon a unique personidentifier.

According to the present invention, these objects are achieved throughthe features of the independent claims. In addition, furtheradvantageous embodiments follow from the dependent claims and thedescription.

In a computer-implemented method of recording data and documents for aperson, a data object is linked in a computer system to a personidentifier of the person.

According to the present invention, the above-mentioned objects areparticularly achieved in that a visual code is generated in the computersystem. The visual code encodes reference information for identifyingthe data object linked to the person. A visual representation of thevisual code is generated. Using a camera of a mobile communicationdevice, the reference information encoded in the visual code is capturedfrom the visual representation of the visual code. The referenceinformation is stored in the mobile communication device. A data packageis generated in the mobile communication device. The data packageincludes the reference information captured from the visualrepresentation of the visual code and an image of a document of theperson. The data package is transferred from the mobile communicationdevice to the computer system. The image of the document, received inthe data package, is stored in the computer system linked to the dataobject, defined by the reference information received in the datapackage.

In an embodiment, generating the data package in the mobilecommunication device comprises encrypting at least a part of the datapackage using a public cryptographic key provided by the computersystem.

In a further embodiment, generating the visual code in the computersystem comprises encoding in the visual code a public cryptographic key.The public cryptographic key encoded in the visual code is stored in themobile communication device.

In an embodiment, generating the visual code in the computer systemcomprises encoding in the visual code an addressing element. Using theaddressing element, the data package is transferred from the mobilecommunication device to the computer system.

In a further embodiment, transferring the data package from the mobilecommunication device to the computer system comprises transmitting thedata package from the mobile communication device to a cloud-basedprocessing center, and transmitting the data package from thecloud-based processing center to the computer system.

In an embodiment, the image of the document of the person is captured,using a camera of the mobile communication device and/or a scanner. Theimage of the document of the person is stored in the mobilecommunication device.

In a further embodiment, generating the visual representation of thevisual code comprises displaying the visual representation and/orprinting the visual representation of the visual code.

In addition to the computer-implemented method of recording data anddocuments for a person, the present invention also relates to a computersystem for recording data and documents for a person. The computersystem comprises one or more processors which are configured to performthe steps of: linking in the computer system a data object to a personidentifier of the person; generating in the computer system a visualcode, the visual code encoding reference information for identifying thedata object linked to the person; generating a visual representation ofthe visual code to enable a mobile communication device to capture thereference information encoded in the visual code, using a camera of themobile communication device; receiving in the computer system a datapackage from the mobile communication device; extracting in the computersystem from the data package an image of a document of the person andthe reference information extracted by the mobile communication devicefrom the visual representation of the visual code; and storing in thecomputer system the image of the document, extracted from the datapackage, linked to the data object, defined by the reference informationextracted from the data package.

In an embodiment, the one or more processors of the computer system arefurther configured to use a private cryptographic key of the computersystem to decrypt contents of the data package encrypted by the mobilecommunication device using a public encryption key of the computersystem.

In a further embodiment, the one or more processors of the computersystem are further configured to encode in the visual code the publiccryptographic key of the computer system, enabling the mobilecommunication device to encrypt at least a part of the data packageusing the public cryptographic key of the computer system.

In addition to the computer-implemented method and the computer systemfor recording data and documents for a person, the present inventionalso relates to a computer program product comprising a non-transientcomputer-readable medium having stored thereon computer program codeconfigured to control a processor of a computer system such that thecomputer system performs the steps of: linking in the computer system adata object to a person identifier of a person; generating in thecomputer system a visual code, the visual code encoding referenceinformation for identifying the data object linked to the person;generating a visual representation of the visual code to enable a mobilecommunication device to capture the reference information encoded in thevisual code, using a camera of the mobile communication device;receiving in the computer system a data package from the mobilecommunication device; extracting in the computer system from the datapackage an image of a document of the person and the referenceinformation extracted by the mobile communication device from the visualrepresentation of the visual code; and storing in the computer systemthe image of the document, extracted from the data package, linked tothe data object, defined by the reference information extracted from thedata package.

In addition to the computer-implemented method and the computer systemfor recording data and documents for a person, the present inventionalso relates to a mobile communication device, comprising a camera and aprocessor connected to the camera and configured to perform the stepsof: capturing reference information, using the camera of the mobilecommunication device, from a visual representation of a visual code,generated by an external computer system separate from the mobilecommunication device for defining in the external computer system a dataobject linked to a person; generating in the mobile communication devicea data package, the data package including the reference informationcaptured from the visual representation of the visual code and an imageof a document of the person; and transferring the data package from themobile communication device to the external computer system, enablingthe external computer system to store the image of the document of theperson in the external computer system linked to the data object definedby the reference information included in the data package.

In an embodiment, the processor of the mobile communication device isfurther configured to encrypt at least a part of the data package usinga public cryptographic key of the external computer system.

In a further embodiment the processor of the mobile communication deviceis further configured to extract the public cryptographic key of theexternal computer system from the visual representation of the visualcode generated by the external computer system.

In addition to the mobile communication device, and thecomputer-implemented method and the computer system for recording dataand documents for a person, the present invention also relates to acomputer program product comprising a non-transient computer-readablemedium having stored thereon computer program code configured to controla processor of a mobile communication device such that the mobilecommunication device performs the steps of: capturing referenceinformation, using a camera of the mobile communication device, from avisual representation of a visual code, generated by an externalcomputer system separate from the mobile communication device fordefining in the external computer system a data object linked to aperson; generating in the mobile communication device a data package,the data package including the reference information captured from thevisual representation of the visual code and an image of a document ofthe person; and transferring the data package from the mobilecommunication device to the external computer system, enabling theexternal computer system to store the image of the document of theperson in the external computer system linked to the data object definedby the reference information included in the data package.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be explained in more detail, by way ofexample, with reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1: shows a block diagram illustrating schematically a computersystem for recording data and documents for a person.

FIG. 2: shows a block diagram illustrating schematically a computersystem which generates a visual representation of a visual code toenable a user to link the documents of a person to data stored for theperson in the computer system.

FIG. 3: shows a block diagram illustrating schematically a computersystem which generates and transfer to a user computer a visual code,enabling the user to link the documents of a person to data stored forthe person in the computer system.

FIG. 4: shows a block diagram illustrating schematically a computersystem which generates and prints for a user a visual code, enabling theuser to link the documents of a person to data stored for the person inthe computer system.

FIG. 5: shows a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary sequence of stepsfor recording in a computer system data and documents for a person.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIGS. 1-5, reference numeral 1 refers to a computer system forrecording data and documents 4 for a person. As illustratedschematically in FIGS. 1-4, the documents are paper documents, e.g.letters, invoices, receipts, statements of accounts, forms, etc. Thecomputer system 1 comprises one or more operable computers whichcomprise one or more processors 13 and a data store 100 for storingperson data. The person data comprises at least one data object 10linked to a person identifier 11. The computer system 1 is configuredfor data communication via a communications network 3, e.g. with aremote user computer 5 or a mobile communication device 2. As shown inFIGS. 1-4, the computer system 1 comprises a display screen 14, e.g. fordisplaying a user interface of a data processing application. Thecomputer system 1 further comprises a non-transitory computer-readablemedium, connected to the processor(s) 13 removably or in a fixedfashion, and having stored thereon computer program code configured tocontrol the processor(s) 13 such that the computer system 1 implementsthe data processing application and its user interface and performsvarious functions described below in more detail. The data processingapplication implemented by the processors 13 of the computer system 1 isconfigured to receive (via electronic data transmission, data entry,and/or data scanning processes) and store person data in one or moredata objects 10 in the data store 100. For example, the data processingapplication is related to tax declarations or the processing of otherperson-specific data and documents. The data objects 10 include datafiles, electronic documents, electronic forms, databases, data folders,and data records, data elements and/or data fields in the data files,electronic documents, electronic forms, databases, and/or data folders,respectively.

The communications network 3 comprises a local area network (LAN), awireless local area network (WLAN), a mobile radio network, e.g. a GSM(Global System for Mobile Communication) or UMTS (Universal MobileTelephone System), a fixed telecommunications network, and/or theInternet.

As illustrated schematically in FIGS. 1-4, a cloud-based computer system30 is connected to the communications network 3. The cloud-basedcomputer system 30 comprises one or more operable computers with one ormore processors connected to a data store.

As illustrated schematically in FIGS. 1-4, the mobile communicationdevice 2 comprises a camera 20, a display 21 and one or more processors22, connected to the camera 20 and the display 21. The mobilecommunication device 2 further comprises a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, connected to the processor(s) 22 removably orin a fixed fashion, and having stored thereon computer program codeconfigured to control the processor(s) 22 such that the mobilecommunication device 2 performs various functions described below inmore detail.

In the following paragraphs, described with reference to FIG. 5 arepossible sequences of steps performed by the processors 13, 22 of thecomputer system 1, mobile communication device 2, or cloud-basedcomputer center 3, respectively, for recording data and documents 4 fora person. Recording data and documents 4 for a person means to storesaid data and documents of the person linked or assigned to the person.For the sake of clarity and ease of reading, steps performed by theprocessor(s) 13 of the computer system 1 or by the data processingapplication implemented by the processor(s) 13 of the computer system 1,respectively, are referred to as “steps performed by the computer system1”. Correspondingly, steps performed by the processor(s) 22 of themobile communication device 2 or the cloud-based computer center 3 arereferred to as “steps performed by the mobile communication device 2” or“steps performed by the cloud-based computer center 3”, respectively.

In step S1, the computer system 1 links one or more data objects 10comprising person data of a specific person to a person identifier ofthe specific person. Depending on the application, the person dataincludes data about the person, e.g. name, birth date, etc., data forcontacting the person, e.g. address, phone number, etc., or other datarelated to the person, such as financial data, including income, accountbalances, expenses, pension contributions, etc., or other dataassociated with the person or his/her family. For example, the linkingof the person data is responsive to data input or data entry for andrelated to the specific person. The person identifier is a unique personidentifier defining the specific person in a non-ambiguous fashion, e.g.a social insurance number, a passport number, an IMSI (internationalmobile subscriber identifier), a unique identifier (UID), a globallyunique identifier (GUID), or the like.

In step S2, the computer system 1 generates a visual code which encodesreference information for identifying the one or more data objects 10linked to the person. Depending on the embodiment, configuration and/ortype of data object 10, the reference information includes an objectidentifier (OID), a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), a UniformResource Locator (URL), a bookmark, an anchor, a node identifier, oranother addressing element for uniquely identifying the one or more dataobjects 10. The visual code or the reference information, respectively,further identifies the computer system 1 and/or the respective person.For example, the visual code is a one or two-dimensional bar code, e.g.a QR-code (Quick Response code), or another code that can be visualizedon a display screen 14, 51, 21 or on paper 6 or another print medium.

In an embodiment, in step S2, the computer system 1 generates the visualcode to further include a public cryptographic key of the computersystem 1. The public cryptographic key is part of a public/private keypair for asymmetric cryptography, whereby the (secret) private key isstored securely in the computer system 1.

In a further embodiment, in step S2, the computer system 1 generates thevisual code to further include an addressing element related to thecloud-based computer center 30. For example, the addressing elementcomprises a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or another link to anapplication, a data package and/or a data store on the cloud-basedcomputer center 30.

In step S3, a visual representation 12 of the visual code is generated.Depending on the scenario or configuration, the computer system 1generates the visual representation 12 on a display 14 of the computersystem 1, as illustrated in FIG. 2; the visual representation 12 isgenerated on a display 51 of a remote user computer 5, as illustrated inFIG. 3; or the visual representation 12 is printed by the computersystem 1 (via a printer) on paper 6 or another print medium, asillustrated in FIG. 4.

In step S4, the visual representation 12 is captured by the mobilecommunication device 2. Specifically, the camera 20 of the mobilecommunication device 2 is used to capture the visual representation 12by taking a picture and generating an image of the visual representation12 shown on the display 14 of the computer system 1, on the display 51of the user computer 5, or on the paper 6 or other print medium,respectively.

In step S5, the mobile communication device 2 extracts and stores thereference information encoded in the captured visual code.

Depending on the embodiment, in step S6, the mobile communication device2 further extracts and stores the public cryptographic key of thecomputer system 1 and/or the addressing element encoded in the capturedvisual code.

In step S7, the mobile communication device 2 captures an image of oneor more documents 4 of the person. Specifically, the camera 20 of themobile communication device 2 is used to capture a document 4 by takinga picture and storing an image 23 of the document 4. Alternatively, theone or more documents 4 are captured by way of a scanner included in themobile communication device 2 or connected to the mobile communicationdevice 2.

In step S8, the mobile communication device 2 generates a data packagewhich includes the reference information, extracted from the capturedvisual code, and the captured image 23 of the one or more documents 4 ofthe person. In an embodiment, the mobile communication device 2 uses thepublic cryptographic key, extracted from the captured visual code, toencrypt the contents of the data package, specifically, the referenceinformation and the image 23 of the document(s) 4. In an embodiment, thereference information, particularly identification information definingthe computer system 1 and/or the respective person, is further includedin non-encrypted fashion.

In an embodiment, the steps S4-S8 of block B are executed by aprogrammed software application, a so called “app”, running on theprocessor 22 of the mobile communication device 2, which ensures thatthe reference information and the image 23 of the document(s) 4 arecaptured in one process of “non-separable” or “non-omittable” steps, inthe sense that all steps must be performed for the process to becomplete. Nevertheless, one skilled in the art will understand that thesequence of capturing the visual representation 12 in step S4 andcapturing the document 4 in step S7 could be altered, for example.

In step S9, the data package is transferred from the mobilecommunication device 2 to the computer system 1. As illustratedschematically in FIGS. 2-4, in step S9, the data package is transferredvia communications network 3. Alternatively, if the mobile communicationdevice 2 is located close to the computer system 1, as indicated in FIG.1, in step S9, the data package is transferred via a close rangecommunication interface, such as NFC (Near Field Communication), RFID(Radio Frequency IDentification), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, orthe like. The data package is transferred via communications network 3through the cloud-based center 30 or via peer-to-peer protocols.Depending on the embodiment, the mobile communication device 2 uses theaddressing element to transfer the data package to the cloud-basedcomputer center 30. Specifically, the mobile communication device 2 usesthe URL or another link included in the addressing element to transferthe data package to the cloud-based computer center 30. At thecloud-based computer center 30, the data package is stored, e.g. in adata store or related to an application defined by the addressingelement. In the case of a peer to peer network, the cloud-based computercenter 30 is configured to facilitate a connection between the mobilecommunication device 2 and the computer system 1, e.g. by performingdiscovery, directory and/or hand-shake services, enabling the mobilecommunication device 2 to transfer the data package via communicationsnetwork 3 to the computer system 1, without the need to store the datapackage at the cloud-based computer center 30.

From the cloud-based computer center 30, the data package is transferredto the computer system 1. Depending on the embodiment and/orconfiguration, the computer system 1 polls the cloud-based computercenter 30, e.g. periodically or per operator request, for data packagesassociated with the computer system 1 and/or the respective person, asdefined by the non-encrypted reference information; or the cloud-basedcomputer center 30 forwards the data package to the computer system 1defined by the non-encrypted reference information.

In step S10, the computer system 1 extracts the image(s) of thedocument(s) 4 and the reference information from the data package. Incase the image(s) of the document(s) 4 and/or the reference informationare encrypted, the computer system 1 uses its secret privatecryptographic key for decryption of the document 4 and/or the referenceinformation, respectively.

In step S11, the computer system 1 stores the image(s) of thedocument(s) 4 in the data store 100 linked to the data object 10 definedby the reference information extracted from the data package. In otherwords, the computer system 1 uses the reference information extractedfrom the data package to store the image(s) of the document(s) 4 in thedata store 100 linked to the respective person. In short, the computersystem 1 stores the image(s) of the document(s) 4 in the data store 100linked to the respective person.

It should be noted that, in the description, the computer program codehas been associated with specific functional modules and the sequence ofthe steps has been presented in a specific order. One skilled in the artwill understand, however, that the computer program code may bestructured differently and that the order of at least some of the stepscould be altered, without deviating from the scope of the invention. Forexample, one skilled in the art will understand that the sequence ofcapturing the visual representation 12 in step S4 and capturing thedocument 4 in step S7 could be altered.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method of recording dataand documents for a person, the method comprising: linking, in acomputer system, a data object to a person identifier of the person;generating, in the computer system, a visual code, the visual codeencoding reference information for identifying the data object linked tothe person identifier; generating a visual representation of the visualcode; storing in a mobile communication device the reference informationencoded in the visual code and captured from the visual representationof the visual code, using a camera of the mobile communication device;generating, in the mobile communication device a data package, the datapackage including the reference information captured from the visualrepresentation of the visual code and an image of a document of theperson; transferring the data package from the mobile communicationdevice to the computer system; and storing, in the computer system, theimage of the document, received in the data package, linked to the dataobject, defined by the reference information received in the datapackage.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating in the mobilecommunication device the data package comprises encrypting at least apart of the data package using a public cryptographic key provided bythe computer system.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein generating thevisual code in the computer system comprises encoding in the visual codea public cryptographic key; and the method further comprises storing inthe mobile communication device the public cryptographic key encoded inthe visual code.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the visualcode in the computer system comprises encoding in the visual code anaddressing element; and the method further comprises using theaddressing element for transferring the data package from the mobilecommunication device to the computer system.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein transferring the data package from the mobile communicationdevice to the computer system comprises transmitting the data packagefrom the mobile communication device to a cloud-based processing center,and transmitting the data package from the cloud-based processing centerto the computer system.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprisingcapturing the image of the document of the person, using at least oneof: a camera of the mobile communication device and a scanner; andstoring in the mobile communication device the image of the document ofthe person.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the visualrepresentation of the visual code comprises at least one of: displayingthe visual representation and printing the visual representation of thevisual code.
 8. A computer system for recording data and documents for aperson, the computer system comprising one or more processors configuredto perform the steps of: linking, in the computer system, a data objectto a person identifier of the person; generating, in the computersystem, a visual code, the visual code encoding reference informationfor identifying the data object linked to the person; generating avisual representation of the visual code to enable a mobilecommunication device to capture the reference information encoded in thevisual code, using a camera of the mobile communication device;receiving, in the computer system, a data package from the mobilecommunication device; extracting, in the computer system, from the datapackage an image of a document of the person and the referenceinformation extracted by the mobile communication device from the visualrepresentation of the visual code; and storing, in the computer system,the image of the document, extracted from the data package, linked tothe data object, defined by the reference information extracted from thedata package.
 9. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the one or moreprocessors are further configured to use a private cryptographic key ofthe computer system to decrypt contents of the data package encrypted bythe mobile communication device using a public encryption key of thecomputer system.
 10. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the one ormore processors are further configured to encode in the visual code thepublic cryptographic key of the computer system, enabling the mobilecommunication device to encrypt at least a part of the data packageusing the public cryptographic key of the computer system.
 11. Acomputer program product comprising a non-transient computer-readablemedium having stored thereon computer program code configured to controla processor of a computer system such that the computer system performsthe steps of: linking, in the computer system, a data object to a personidentifier of a person; generating, in the computer system, a visualcode, the visual code encoding reference information for identifying thedata object linked to the person; generating a visual representation ofthe visual code to enable a mobile communication device to capture thereference information encoded in the visual code, using a camera of themobile communication device; receiving, in the computer system, a datapackage from the mobile communication device; extracting, in thecomputer system, from the data package an image of a document of theperson and the reference information extracted by the mobilecommunication device from the visual representation of the visual code;and storing, in the computer system, the image of the document,extracted from the data package, linked to the data object, defined bythe reference information extracted from the data package.
 12. A mobilecommunication device, comprising a camera and a processor connected tothe camera and configured to perform the steps of: capturing referenceinformation, using the camera of the mobile communication device, from avisual representation of a visual code, generated by an externalcomputer system separate from the mobile communication device fordefining in the external computer system a data object linked to aperson; generating, in the mobile communication device, a data package,the data package including the reference information captured from thevisual representation of the visual code and an image of a document ofthe person; and transferring the data package from the mobilecommunication device to the external computer system, enabling theexternal computer system to store the image of the document of theperson in the external computer system linked to the data object definedby the reference information included in the data package.
 13. Themobile communication device of claim 12, wherein the processor isfurther configured to encrypt at least a part of the data package usinga public cryptographic key of the external computer system.
 14. Themobile communication device of claim 13, wherein the processor isfurther configured to extract the public cryptographic key of theexternal computer system from the visual representation of the visualcode generated by the external computer system.
 15. A computer programproduct comprising a non-transient computer-readable medium havingstored thereon computer program code configured to control a processorof a mobile communication device such that the mobile communicationdevice performs the steps of: capturing reference information, using acamera of the mobile communication device, from a visual representationof a visual code, generated by an external computer system separate fromthe mobile communication device for defining in the external computersystem a data object linked to a person; generating, in the mobilecommunication device, a data package, the data package including thereference information captured from the visual representation of thevisual code and an image of a document of the person; and transferringthe data package from the mobile communication device to the externalcomputer system, enabling the external computer system to store theimage of the document of the person in the external computer systemlinked to the data object defined by the reference information includedin the data package.